Former President Hosni Mubarak, when giving a speech at the opening of the parliamentary cycle of the two Houses of Parliament – the People's Assembly and the Shura Council – in October of last year, was asked about his opinion on the issue of the “People's Parliament”. Laughing, he replied: “let them have their fun”. At the time, everyone knew the elections had been rigged, and he himself was aware that he was addressing MPs who had gained their seats through fraud, and that the major figures of the opposition, whether affiliated with political parties or the Muslim Brotherhood or independents, who had established a people's parliament had become much closer to the street after Mubarak's regime had freed them from the restrictions of the walls and halls of Parliament. And when the street rose up and rebelled, it was not for the sake of fun, nor because the people do not know what to do in their spare time, but rather because many reasons drove them to rebel, least of which was perhaps Mubarak's expression: “let them have their fun”. Mubarak's reaction to the question reflects the extent to which the former regime in Egypt misestimated the size of its mistakes or the ability to overthrow it, which is in fact what happened. And there are questions that continue to be raised in Egypt: what is Mubarak doing now? Has he given in to reality and accepted that he would spend the remainder of his days behind high walls in Sharm El-Sheikh, or does he still bear an impact on current events and seeks to exercise influence in the future? Has the regime truly fallen, or has the President lost his seat while the regime's main body is still trying to keep its profits, gains, seats and presence today, as well as planning for the future? The truth is that everyone knows that Mubarak himself had lost many of his capabilities over the past ten years, by virtue of his age and perhaps his vanity, that his son Gamal and those around him had much greater influence and control, and that they used the man as a façade, while they were often behind him and sometimes ahead of him, taking the country on the paths that achieved their interests. They were thus the reason for the end which the regime arrived at – that is if what has happened so far represents the end of Mubarak, without his age or his weakness to his son's extravagant demands absolving him of responsibility. Talk in Egypt today revolves around a “counterrevolution” led by the remnants of the regime – not having of course among its aims that of restoring Mubarak to the presidential seat, of preparing the climate for his son to leap to power, or of reviving the National Democratic Party (NDP), which has gone up in flames as have its headquarters all over the country – as these are matters that now amount to the impossible. However, spreading fear and chaos and thwarting the transformation into a democratic system of government are likely goals of the “counterrevolutionaries”. Similarly, undermining the unity of the January 25 revolutionaries remains a fundamental goal of those who have been harmed by the revolution, which lost them their positions, influence and control. In fact, returning to tampering with the people's national unity by reducing constitutional reform to confirming or revoking Article Two of the constitution, which states that Islamic Sharia law should be a main source of legislation, in order to provoke the Copts or to anger the Muslims, is a game the regime used to often play in order to distract people or to terrorize them into thanking God for living under its protection. Within such a framework, the remnants of the regime have not given up on using the Muslim Brotherhood as a scarecrow for other political forces and other sects among the people, a method that did not affect the Brotherhood's capabilities or its presence, and in fact led in the end to overthrowing and toppling the regime. As for inciting segments of the population to protest and make demands specific to the segment they belong to, it is a method made use of by the NDP for many years in order to fragment the people and divert attention and concern away from the revolution's main goal, which is to topple “all” of the regime and achieve freedom and sound democratic life, which would guarantee for the Egyptian people a much better life in the future. Also surprising is the fact that some of the regime's most prominent figures have remained in their positions and that none of them has kept out of sight in shame or in recognition of a new reality witnessed by the country. Those who “insulted the revolutionaries”, then became their supporters, and then returned to excessively “insult” the former regime and expose its perversion and the corruption of its members! Also strange is this extreme slowness in dealing with the situation imposed by the revolutionaries, as if it was a legacy inherited by the current government from the former regime, which used to take decisions and implement them only after events had gone beyond them and rendered them inadequate, and was shocked by the fact that the street had been quicker and that the revolutionaries were much more dynamic and intelligent. The revolution in Egypt has not yet ended, because all of its goals have not yet been achieved, and because some of those who are applauding it in the government or in the former regime's media have a look of shock on their faces, even if they seek to hide it behind fake smiles and expressions of appreciation and praise for the revolution and the revolutionaries, and by praying for the souls of the martyrs… from behind their hearts. All indications assert that the revolution will continue until its goals are achieved. As for the counterrevolutionaries, they will certainly fail before the thunderous movement of the street… And until their resistance ends …“let them have their fun”.
